Cambridge used a 9-0 run at the end of the second quarter to grab a 22-20 halftime lead Friday night.

New Philadelphia saved its big spurt for the last six minutes of the game, and that was enough to give the host Quakers a 45-38 victory over the Bobcats in an East Central Ohio League clash.

“We hit some key shots in the fourth quarter and jumped into the 1-3-1 which allowed us to get the momentum back,” said Quaker coach Chad Spurgeon. “The kids did a nice job.”

Marco Colombo had a double-double to lead New Philadelphia. The 6-foot-3 junior scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while also contributing three assists and three steals.

“Whenever Marco gets a double-double we can be awfully good,” praised Spurgeon.

The Quakers were playing well enough in the early going, building a 20-13 lead with two minutes remaining in the second period. Then Cambridge tallied nine points in a row, capped by Dean Francis’ 3-point basket at the buzzer.

Two more Francis 3-pointers helped the Bobcats gain a 31-24 advantage at the 1:38 mark of the third stanza.

But in the final minute of the period, Colombo scored on a tip-in and Caleb Beans drained a 3-pointer to pull New Philadelphia to 31-29 entering the final quarter.

It was 33-31 Cambridge as the clock dipped under six minutes when the Quakers began their decisive push.

Colombo found 6-6 junior Ethan Boose under the basket and then JoVohn Morrow grabbed a rebound and fed Colombo underneath to make it 35-33 Quakers with five minutes to go.

Consecutive steals by Beans and Jamal Johnson led to two more Colombo buckets which put the hosts up 39-33 with 4:07 remaining.

The Bobcats tried to rally, cutting the deficit to 41-38 with two minutes on the clock. As New Philadelphia held the ball, Cambridge needed to foul.

One problem. The visitors still had five fouls to give before the Quakers would be in the bonus. When they finally got to the line, Morrow and Beans converted both ends of a one-and-one to close out the win.

Boose added 14 points for the winners while Beans totaled six points, eight rebounds and five assists.

“Beans played a good floor game,” Spurgeon said. “He’s a scorer, but the ball isn’t going in for him right now.”

New Philadelphia improves to 8-3 in the league and 13-7 overall, while Cambridge falls to 11-2 and 15-5.

Spurgeon has the Quakers using a very deliberate style of offense – something that may change in time for a team which has no seniors.

“I’d much rather play fast but we don’t have the depth right now to create that by pressing the whole game,” he explained. “We’re a little too young for that.”